"Most airlines look at their on-board service as a cost center," Mr. Baldanza says.
On-board service work is governed by federal regulation and Amtrak rules and policies.
In the show's earliest pictures, he's learning the ropes of on-board service, while photographing — always a primary interest — as he went.
On-board service of refreshments is announced with a tinkling of a bell (they used to do that on the most stylish of British expresses, the Golden Arrow).
To eliminate on-board service or to contract it out would remove an important level of security on America's passenger trains.
On-board service employees, who are trained in emergency protocols, have acted heroically in emergency situations, helping to evacuate trains and administer first aid.
The June 10 front-page article about the Congressional hearings on Amtrak's food service provides an incomplete view of the duties of on-board service workers.
Bob Sobczewski, manager of UAL's on-board service, credits the process with "forcing us to develop a financial model to tell us when improved service leads to higher revenues".Still, it looks like a bumpy ride for the caterers.
Midwest, whose on-board service includes leather seats and freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies, rebuffed AirTran, arguing that its prospects would be better if it remained independent and upmarket.
Charles F. Moneypenny, the director of the Railroad Division of the Transport Workers Union, which represents 2,000 Amtrak car cleaners and on-board service personnel, said the object was to demonstrate Amtrak's importance.
BoltBus "is the best of all worlds in terms of extreme value and on-board service, with three inches of extra leg room and electrical outlets at every seat," said Dustin Clark, a company spokesman.
